A video made by an Angus schoolgirl depicting children of the world uniting to defeat coronavirus has proved a hit online.
Monifieth youngster Josie Alvaro and mum Lucia Riario originally made the short story for their relatives living in quarantine in Rome, before the pair went into self-isolation at the start of the week.
The video shows the covid-19 outbreak through a child’s eyes – while also spreading a serious message about the pandemic.
In the story the virus is personified as an arch-villian who wreaks havoc on China before making its way to Italy and wider Europe.
However children of the world fight back against the evil virus by washing their hands and spreading “happiness and hope”.
Spoilers aside, the tale doesn’t end well for the bad guy – who inevitably admits defeat.
The story was written by Miss Riario, who runs a sewing and embroidery business, with the drawings and narration done by Josie, 11.
They put pen to paper out of as desire to create something comforting for their relatives in Rome, who are unable to even leave their homes without a certificate.
Miss Riario said: “I wrote the story and she added all the drawings. We have got family in Italy and knew what they were going through.
“We saw the kids over there were a bit scared so we decided to do a short story which wouldn’t scare the kids, which would explain what they could do.
“She (Josie) is quite creative.
“Just from Monday I stopped sending her to school but it was the week before that it was made.”
Both Miss Riario and Josie are finding ways to keep themselves occupied in their Angus home and said a sequel to the video could be on the cards.
She added that it was heartwarming to see footage of Italians finding ways to make people laugh despite quarantine. Footage of people across the country singing from balconies has taken social media by storm.
Miss Riario said Scots must find ways to cope in isolation or “we would just lose it”.
“We have family there so we know what is going to happen,” she added.
“Everyone was getting a bit bored and sending a lot of stories and memes of people going mental in their houses.
“In Rome they are having things called flashmobs and they are doing it every hour. They are starting to complain now.”
She was also delighted to see the reaction to the video online, with 10,000 people watching it via Facebook.
Miss Riario said: “They all said it is really good. It doesn’t look sad or serious. They all seem to be quite happy.”
